[88] IRAQ WAR PRESENTS SOUTH CAUCASUS STATES WITH NEW CONCERNS, ROLES,
1 April 2003
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RUSSIA

Sergei Ivanov said in an interview posted on the website of
"Komsomolskaya pravda" (http://www.kp.ru) on 31 March that the Russian
military is carefully tracking the U.S.-led military operation in Iraq
bearing in mind its own responsibility to defend the largest country in
the world. Ivanov said that the operation is not proceeding "without
mishaps and miscalculations," and that Iraq has successfully challenged
the coalition both militarily and in terms of propaganda. However,
developments do not depend on Iraq, but on U.S. decisions, Ivanov said.
For instance, if U.S. planners resorted to carpet bombing, Iraq would
be unable to resist for long, Ivanov said. The political cost of such a
decision for the United States would be enormous, he added. If, on the
other hand, the United States continues to use tactics designed to
minimize casualties and avoid major engagements, the operation could be
problematic, since "Iraq still has a formidable army that has not yet
begun to fight," Ivanov said. He added that coalition commanders do not
need to take major cities such as al-Basrah. "The goal is to get [Iraqi
President Saddam] Hussein," Ivanov said. Ivanov said it is possible
that the Soviet Union supplied Iraq with 200 Grad multiple rocket
launchers in the 1980s, but emphasized that Russia has scrupulously
observed all international sanctions against Iraq and that Russia's
presence in the country "has been minimal" over the last decade.
"Purely hypothetically, it can be supposed that some of those weapons,
probably, still exist," Ivanov said. "These weapons do not fall under
any bans." VY

In the same interview, Defense Minister Ivanov said he does not believe
that President Hussein will go into exile. He emphasized that Russia is
not overly concerned with Hussein's fate. "Speaking frankly, Saddam is
not our friend and brother, and he will never repay his debts to us,"
Ivanov said, adding that the Kremlin is more concerned about setting a
precedent for resolving similar disputes. Ivanov said that the
international-security system has been "shaken to its foundations," and
expressed doubt that the UN Security Council will be able to resume its
previous role in international affairs. He said that Moscow believes
the U.S. administration wants to make sure that the Security Council is
no longer in a position to determine or even play a key role in
international affairs. "We have no need of such a UN," Ivanov added.
However, he said that Moscow is bolstering direct ties with U.S.
officials and confirmed that he has direct communications lines to U.S.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. national security adviser
Condoleezza Rice. "They knew our position on Iraq in advance, and our
open declarations do not surprise them," Ivanov said. He said he does
not believe that U.S. officials have changed their attitude toward
Russia noticeably since the crisis began. VY

Military strategist Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, who is known for
his anti-Western position, has denied U.S. allegations that more than
1,000 Russian-made Kornet antitank missiles were supplied to Iraq via
illegal weapons traders from Ukraine and Syria, ORT reported, citing
"Newsweek," No. 14. Ivashov, who was responsible for Russian
military-technical contacts abroad until 1999, said that during his
tenure no Kornets were supplied to Iraq. Kornets were sold to other
countries, "but completely legally," Ivashov said. He charged that
Western arms producers are disseminating the allegations against Russia
in order to hinder Russia's "legitimate arms trading." An unidentified
spokesman for the Tula factory that produces the Kornet told ORT that
"none of our products are in Iraq; otherwise, coalition losses would be
much higher." VY

A statement issued by leading Moscow political scientists warns that
"the military defeat of the United States that is so badly desired by
the majority of Russians" could cost Russia much more than the demise
of the regime of Iraqi President Hussein, "Izvestiya" reported on 31
March. The experts support neither the official position articulated by
President Vladimir Putin and the Foreign Ministry nor the statements of
some politicians celebrating the U.S.-led coalition's reported
setbacks. The Kremlin's position -- that the military operation should
be halted immediately, that coalition forces should be withdrawn, and
that the process of resolving the conflict should be returned to the UN
Security Council -- is impractical, said Institute of Applied
International Research Director Vladimir Razumovskii. "They will never
withdraw because that would mean their withdrawal from global
politics," Strategic Research Center Director Andrei Piontkovskii
added. Moscow's hope that the process of resolving the crisis will be
returned to the UN is also a delusion. The United Nations will never be
the same as it was before the crisis, and Moscow should develop a
proposal for its profound reformation, the experts argued. They added
that Russia should also initiate a summit of the United Kingdom,
Russia, France, and Germany with the goal of articulating a unified
position on Iraq before the G-8 summit to be held this summer. VY

State Health Inspectorate spokesman Yurii Fedorov said on 31 March that
Russia intends to reinstate its system of mandatory smallpox
vaccinations, nns.ru reported. The Health Ministry plans to phase in
vaccinations for high-risk population groups in the near future.
Fedorov said the first group to be vaccinated will be medical workers.
"Argumenty i fakty," No. 13, reported that the plan is connected with
the perceived increase in the threat of bioterrorism. The Soviet
smallpox vaccination program was ended in 1980, and currently the only
legitimate stocks of the smallpox virus are kept at the Centers for
Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, and at a research facility in
Novosibirsk. VY

Aleksei Barantsev, general director of the Gorkii Automobile Plant in
Nizhnii Novgorod, said on 31 March that his company will fulfill a
contract with Iraq to supply 5,000 cars even if the regime of Iraqi
President Hussein is removed, Russian media reported. The $45 million
contract was signed as part of the UN's "oil-for-food" program,
Barantsev said, and is enforceable under international law. VY

Russia's foreign debt rose by $2.7 billion in 2002, RBK reported on 1
April, citing statistics released by the Central Bank. As of 1 January,
the country's foreign debt totaled $153.5 billion, of which $55.3
billion is Soviet-era debt, $48.4 billion is post-Soviet debt, and the
rest comprises various bonds and obligations. VY

A poll of public support for political parties conducted in March by
the All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) showed
that support for the Communist Party has reached a "record" level of 31
percent, compared with just 21 percent for Unified Russia,
"Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 31 March. The daily noted that this
gap will be difficult to close before the December State Duma
elections. According to the daily, the rating of the Union of Rightist
Forces (SPS) has improved since January, while that of Yabloko has
slipped. In January, Yabloko polled 8 percent (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
31 January 2003), but the March results suggested the party might have
trouble overcoming the 5 percent barrier for entry to the Duma. On 31
March, Sverdlovsk Oblast Governor Eduard Rossel, who attended Unified
Russia's 29 March party congress in Moscow, admitted that victory is
not assured for the party, RosBalt reported. "Of course, one can
convince oneself that victory in December is in [our] pocket, but this
would be a serious mistake," Rossel said. JAC

Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov said on 31 March that he
supports an international boycott of U.S. products in protest against
the U.S.-led military action against the regime of Iraqi President
Hussein, Interfax reported. Zyuganov claimed that last weekend about 3
million people took part in protests against the war in 4,000 Russian
towns. According to Novyi Region on 31 March, 10 public demonstrations
against the war and U.S. policy toward Iraq have been held in Perm
alone since the beginning of the year. JAC

Valerii Bogomolov, chief of personnel at the Federation Council's
apparatus, will replace Aleksandr Bespalov as secretary of Unified
Russia's General Council, Russian media reported on 31 March. According
to "Kommersant-Daily" on 31 March, Bespalov's name was not mentioned
during the party's 29 March congress, and he did not attend. The
newspaper also reported that the General Council -- rather than the
High Council -- is the "real organ of power within the party."
According to "Vremya novostei" the same day, the General Council will
compile the party list for the December Duma elections. However,
Politika Foundation head Vyacheslav Nikonov explained to
"Kommersant-Daily" on 31 March that although the little-known Bogomolov
has been named the secretary of the General Council, the party "as an
instrument of victory in the elections will really be managed from
within the Kremlin," from which such reputed managerial talents as
deputy presidential administration head Vyacheslav Surkov operate. JAC

"The Moscow Times" on 31 March reported that according to an
unidentified source, the so-called Family, or coterie of individuals
that rose to prominence around former President Boris Yeltsin, "has
gotten the upper hand" in terms of control of Unified Russia, despite
the appointment of two high-ranking officials with KGB backgrounds:
Bogomolov and former Federation Council representative Yurii Volkov.
The daily noted the appointment of Agriculture Minister Aleksei
Gordeev, "a loyal supporter of Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov," to the
High Council, and cited Andrei Ryabov of the Carnegie Moscow Center,
who said that "Bespalov's resignation upset the balance of power
because he is a St. Petersburg man...and under his leadership there was
a clear line aimed at weakening [Prime Minister Mikhail] Kasyanov."
Both Kasyanov and Surkov are considered members of the Family. Also on
31 January, "Gazeta" carried a commentary by State Duma Deputy Vladimir
Ryzhkov (independent). Noting calls by Unified Russia officials during
the congress to form the government from the parliamentary majority,
Ryzhkov argued that "the Russian bureaucracy is a dog, [and] Unified
Russia is its tail: The tail can [only] dream about forming a
government." JAC

Observers of the 30 March legislative elections in Rostov Oblast were
surprised by the large number of protest votes, RFE/RL's Rostov
correspondent reported the next day. The percentage of voters voting
against all candidates ranged from 22-28 percent in several districts,
particularly in the oblast's smaller cities and in certain
neighborhoods of Rostov-na-Donu. Incumbents also did not fare well. Of
the 45 deputies seeking re-election, only 20 were successful. The
Unified Russia party, however, did well in the race. According to the
party's executive committee, Unified Russia did not nominate its own
candidates, but it supported 42 candidates -- 39 of whom won. The
Communist Party fared poorly, with only one of its 24 candidates
winning a seat. According to "Kommersant-Daily" on 31 March,
representatives of Unified Russia concealed their party membership.
Four members of the party's regional branch participated in the race,
but only one of them publicly declared this affiliation. Another group
that did well in the election was local businessmen. According to
"Vremya novostei" on 1 April, 31 of the 45 seats were won by enterprise
directors. JAC

President Putin signed on 31 March the basic law on electricity, which
is part of a package of six bills approved by the State Duma and
Federation Council to reform the country's electricity sector, polit.ru
reported. The law requires the creation of a joint-stock company to
control the electricity network, in which the government can have no
less than a 52 percent stake during a transition period. After this
period, the government will control 75 percent-plus-one share.
According to the website, experts believe the law will reduce the
influence of local governments on energy carriers to a minimum.
According to Radio Rossii, the law also stipulates the conditions and
procedures for turning off heat or electricity supplies to nonpaying
customers. Also on 31 March, Dalenergo limited energy supplies to 150
enterprises in Primorskii Krai, whose combined debts exceed 78 million
rubles ($2.4 million), RFE/RL's Russian Service reported. Meanwhile,
some 200 apartment buildings in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii have been
without hot water since 17 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 March
2003). On 1 April, a high temperature of 2 degrees Celsius was expected
there. JAC

[14] AUDIT CHAMBER RATCHETS UP THE PRESSURE ON ST. PETERSBURG GOVERNOR

The Audit Chamber on 31 March accused St. Petersburg Governor Vladimir
Yakovlev of "systematically ignoring Audit Chamber decisions,"
RIA-Novosti reported. According to the chamber's information and
public-relations department, the chamber has not yet received an answer
to a letter it issued about the alleged misallocation of more than 1
million rubles ($32,000) intended for local road construction. The
chamber has been conducting an audit of expenditures of federal funds
by municipal authorities for preparations for the city's 300th
anniversary (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 February and 24 March 2003). In
April, the Audit Chamber will check whether Yakovlev has taken any
measures in response to its earlier findings, and if not, will "take
legal steps against the St. Petersburg administration." JAC

The leader of the local Muslim community in Tolyatti was killed in his
home by a blow to the head, islam.ru reported on 31 March. Abdol-Karim
Tajoddinov became the imam-khatib for Tolyatti in 1997 following the
construction of a mosque in that city. In October of that year, the
chairman of the mosque, Irek Karimov, was the victim of an attack that
left him crippled. According to the website, Tajoddinov had to leave
the mosque soon after that incident, and he formed a religious group
that teaches Arabic and the basics of Islam to local Muslims. Akhmet
Makhmetov, director of the press service of the Central Islamic
Spiritual Board of Holy Russia for the Volga District, called the
"murder of the imam-khatib a dangerous precedent, illustrating serious
problems in the social consciousness of the residents of Tolyatti." JAC

Moscow's Golovinskii Raion court on 31 March acquitted Azerbaijani
businessman Fizuli Mamedov (a.k.a. Frank Alcapone) of charges of
possession of more than 1 kilogram of heroin, Turan reported. The
prosecutor on 17 March had demanded a 14-year prison term, but the
court ruled that the prosecution did not furnish evidence that Mamedov
had committed any crime. He was arrested in Moscow, where he lives, in
June 2001, and has consistently claimed that he is innocent and that
the drugs found on his person and in his apartment were planted (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 6 June 2001). LF

[17] OSCE ADVOCATES FURTHER EFFORTS TO PROMOTE POLITICAL SETTLEMENT IN
CHECHNYA

Ambassador Christian Strohal, the new director of the OSCE'S Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, told the OSCE's Permanent
Council in Vienna on 27 March that the 23 March referendum on a new
Chechen constitution and election legislation must be followed by "a
serious effort by all sides to engage in a sustained political process
bridging the divide between Moscow and the Chechen people," according
to a 28 March statement posted on the OSCE website
(http://www.osce.org/news/shownews.php?id=3153). He stressed that the
ODIHR is ready to support that process of rapprochement. LF

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on 31 March, Oleg Mironov said
that mass graves in Chechnya should be opened in order to identify
those buried there, to determine whether they were killed by federal
forces or Chechen gunmen, and then to give the victims a dignified
burial, Interfax reported. At the same time, Mironov rejected the
recent proposal by Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Deputy Rudolf Bindig to establish an international tribunal to
investigate alleged war crimes committed in Chechnya (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 5 and 6 March 2003). Mironov expressed approval of a
proposed amnesty for Chechen fighters, but argued that it should also
extend to Russian servicemen convicted of minor crimes committed while
serving in Chechnya, ITAR-TASS reported. LF

People's Party of Armenia chairman Stepan Demirchian and several other
leading members of the opposition Artarutiun bloc were summoned on 31
March to the Prosecutor-General's Office in Yerevan and warned that
they risk unspecified legal action if they continue to convene protest
demonstrations in Yerevan without obtaining official permission in
advance, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Parliament deputy Aramayis
Berseghian told RFE/RL that the opposition leaders refused to sign an
official statement acknowledging receipt of that warning. Meanwhile,
the Armenian Justice Ministry gave the number of persons detained for
participating in unauthorized demonstrations between 17-25 March as
132, of whom 69 have been sentenced to short jail terms, and the
remainder fined and released. LF

In his maiden speech to the Milli Mezhlis on 31 March, Gudrat
Gasankuliev, who heads a splinter group of the Azerbaijan Popular Front
Party, criticized the Azerbaijani leadership for joining the anti-Iraq
coalition in what he termed an attempt to secure the international
community's approval of its neglect of domestic political problems,
Turan reported. Noting that the constitution requires that the
legislature approve any alignment with a military coalition,
Gasankuliev demanded that the Foreign Ministry present a formal
explanation to the legislature. Gasankuliev, whom many opposition
politicians and political observers believe enjoys the covert support
of the Azerbaijani leadership, was elected in a by-election last month
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 March 2003). LF

Vilayat Guliev has warned ethnic Armenian refugees from Iraq against
settling in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), according
to zerkalo.az on 1 April. Guliev said that any who do so will one day
have to flee the disputed enclave. Noyan Tapan on 31 March quoted the
head of the NKR government's Migration and Refugee Affairs Department,
Serge Amirkhanian, as saying he has received no notification from
Yerevan concerning the possible resettlement in Karabakh of Armenians
from Iraq. LF

Azerbaijani government spokesman Fuad Akhundov has proposed that the
international community -- in the first instance, the Council of Europe
-- insist on the dispatch to the unrecognized NKR of a team of
inspectors comparable to those sent under the UN aegis to Iraq,
Interfax reported on 31 March. Akhundov repeated earlier claims by
senior Azerbaijani officials that the NKR hosts international terrorist
bases and condones the cultivation and trafficking of drugs. He
reasoned that the region poses a greater threat to Europe than does
Iraq because of its geographic proximity. LF

A group of 22 ambassadors to the OSCE, including German Ambassador
Dieter Boden who previously served as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's
special representative for the Abkhaz conflict, has recently visited
Tbilisi and Sukhum, Caucasus Press reported on 31 March. During talks
in the Abkhaz capital, they advised the Abkhaz leadership to consider
as a basis for resolving the conflict with Tbilisi the 2002 document
drafted by Boden. The Abkhaz leadership has consistently refused to
consider that draft, which is based on the premise that Abkhazia is an
integral part of Georgia. Abkhaz Vice President Valerii Arshba told the
visiting ambassadors that Georgia is sabotaging the settlement process
by refusing to withdraw the troops it deployed last year in the Kodori
Gorge. Prime Minister Gennadii Gagulia said he sees no reason why the
OSCE should become involved in mediating a solution to the Abkhaz
conflict, as the UN already plays the leading role in doing so,
ITAR-TASS reported on 31 March. The ambassadors also held talks in
Tbilisi with President Eduard Shevardnadze, parliament speaker Nino
Burdjanadze, and Minister for Special Assignments Malkhaz Kakabadze,
Caucasus Press reported on 28 and 31 March. On 26 March, OSCE High
Commissioner on National Minorities Rolf Ekeus visited Sukhum to
discuss with Abkhaz officials arrangements for providing
Georgian-language instruction in schools for the children of Georgian
displaced persons who return to Abkhazia under the agreement recently
reached between Russia, Georgia, and Abkhazia, Caucasus Press reported.
LF

Members of the opposition Revival Union parliament faction told a press
conference in Tbilisi on 29 March that faction members and
rank-and-file party members have repeatedly been attacked over the
previous three weeks, Caucasus Press reported. The assailants
reportedly told their victims they are being targeted because of their
membership of the union. Faction leader Djemal Gogitidze said that if
the reprisals continue, the faction will begin collecting signatures in
a bid to impeach President Shevardnadze and ministers responsible for
maintaining law and order. LF

Paata Mkheidze, who is the Georgian Justice Ministry official
responsible for administering the country's prisons, was quoted by
Caucasus Press on 28 March as saying that water supplies to prisons
might soon be cut off because of debts for previous supplies amounting
to 2.2 million laris ($1.01 million). The prison system's annual budget
for 2003 is 9.4 million laris, according to "Mtavari gazeti" on 31
March. Other debts reportedly include 520,000 laris for electricity,
55,000 laris for fuel, and 879,000 laris in unpaid wages to prison
personnel. Telephone connections with some prisons have been
disconnected because of outstanding bills. LF

Abkhaz Prime Minister Gagulia has issued a statement acknowledging that
"the country is in crisis" and affirming his government's readiness for
"active dialogue with all political parties and organizations that are
interested in the democratic development of the republic," Caucasus
Press reported on 1 April. But Gagulia again rejected calls by
Amtsakhara, a public political movement uniting veterans of the 1992-93
war with Georgia, that his government resign (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26
March 2003). On 29 March, Amtsakhara members convened in Sukhum to
discuss tactics following talks with ailing Abkhaz President Vladislav
Ardzinba, Caucasus Press reported. Amtsakhara co-Chairman Vladimir
Nachach-ogly said after the 29 March meeting that the movement is ready
for constructive dialogue with the government, and for cooperation with
all political parties and movements. He added that Amtsakhara has
drafted programs for economic development and constitutional reform.
But at the same time, he stressed that the organization's demand for
the government's resignation remains in force. LF

Speaking to the first session of the Public Council on the Mass Media
on 31 March, Nursultan Nazarbaev warned that freedom of speech does not
mean a lack of control, or convey the right to damage reputations, or
free the media from their responsibility to society, khabar.kz
reported. Listing Kazakhstan's achievements in guaranteeing freedom of
speech, Nazarbaev included the recent law on the mass media, the
abolition of censorship and of the state monopoly in the media, tax
breaks for broadcast and print media, and the distribution of
government procurement orders to both state and private media. The
president asserted that 80 percent of Kazakhstan's mass media are
independent and asked that the media work in partnership with
government officials. He expressed the hope that disputes between state
and media can be dealt with in a civilized way. The country's
independent journalists would likely disagree with much, if not all, of
Nazarbaev's assessment, seeing it as justification for restrictive
government policies and the harassment of critical journalists. The
council was set up in December, and it comprises government officials,
representatives of the mass media, and parliamentarians. BB

Kazakhstan's National Security Committee issued a press release on 31
March reporting that security officers broke up a drug-smuggling ring
after 60 kilograms of heroin were found on 27 March in the car of four
gang members, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the same day. One of the
detainees was a Tajik citizen, and the rest were citizens of
Kazakhstan. According to the committee, the gang has been engaged in
smuggling large quantities of heroin for a long time. Most of the drugs
were reportedly intended for shipment to Russia. BB

While the Kazakh military conducts large-scale exercises in the western
part of the country, border troops launched their own exercise on the
eastern border on 31 March, ITAR-TASS and khabar.kz reported, citing
information from the National Security Committee's Border Service. The
purpose of the exercise is to develop tactics to be used in case of
infiltration by "international criminals and extremists."
National-security and law enforcement agencies are to collaborate with
the border troops during the exercise. BB

As of 1 April, smoking in public places is prohibited in Kazakhstan,
khabar.kz reported on 31 March. The official news service warned that
this is not an April Fool's Day joke. The prohibition applies
specifically to schools, universities, hospitals, cinemas, theaters,
exhibitions, and taxis. Blowing smoke at government officials is also
forbidden. Khabar.kz noted that according to government data, some
25,000 people die in Kazakhstan each year from the effects of smoking.
BB

Askar Akaev told a Security Council session on 31 March that corruption
in the country is threatening to undermine the system of government and
called for stronger efforts to combat it, akipress.org, Interfax, and
ITAR-TASS reported. Akaev cited polls conducted by the UN Development
Program that show a widespread belief among citizens that corruption is
the main cause of the country's economic problems. He acknowledged that
around the country bribes are extorted in governmental, educational,
and medical institutions. Akaev called for the adoption of a national
strategy on good governance that would increase the responsibility of
bureaucrats for the professional and conscientious performance of their
duties, adding that Kyrgyzstan's current laws are too lenient. In
Akaev's view, the Chinese example of harsh punishments for corrupt
officials ought to be adopted in Kyrgyzstan. BB

Turkmenistan handed over to Turkish officials on 31 March six citizens
of Turkey who were allegedly involved in the purported November 2002
assassination attempt against Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov,
turkmenistan.ru, the Azerbaijani news agency Turan, and Interfax
reported. The Turkmen authorities are reportedly negotiating with
Russia and the United States deals under which the citizens of those
countries would be returned to the homelands and tried there for their
alleged roles in the assassination attempt. The Prosecutor-General's
Office asserts that 16 foreigners took part in the assassination plot,
including five Russians and one U.S. citizen. In its proposal to
Turkey, Russia, and the United States to take back their citizens for
trial at home, the Turkmen side promised to provide "all necessary
evidence for holding the terrorists liable for the crimes committed in
Turkmenistan." BB

Uzbek President Islam Karimov appointed a new chief of staff on 31
March, uza.uz and uzreport.com reported. He is Lieutenant General
Tolqin Djumaev, who will also hold the post of first deputy defense
minister. He previously commanded the Southwestern Military District.
He replaces Colonel General Tolqin Qosimov. The official announcement
merely reported that Qosimov has been dismissed, but did not say why.
BB

Belarus will continue to support Cuba's efforts to preserve its
sovereignty and to have the U.S. economic blockade lifted, Belarusian
Prime Minister Henadz Navitski told Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez
Roque in Minsk on 31 March, Belapan reported. Roque expressed
satisfaction with his three-day visit to Belarus. He said Cuba admires
the Belarusian people for their "resistance to external pressure." The
same day, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka assured Roque that Belarus
will find a way to fill a gap in its trade with Cuba. Trade between the
two countries totaled $32 million in 2002, with Belarus's exports
amounting to $5.3 million. Cuba sells raw sugar to Belarus and imports
potash fertilizers, tires, pumps, engines, tractors, trucks, and spare
parts. JM

Experts from Belarus and Russia on 31 March finalized a draft
Constitutional Act of the Russia-Belarus Union, Belapan reported. Under
the draft, the governing bodies in the union would be the Supreme State
Council, the parliament, the Council of Ministers, and the union court.
The draft suggests that the Belarusian and Russian leaders should
rotate the chairmanship of the Supreme State Council. The common
Belarusian-Russian state would have a flag, an emblem, and other
attributes of statehood. The union would also have a single currency.
The union governing bodies would be in charge of creating a common
economic space -- thus establishing the legal framework for common
market, monetary, tax, and price policies; a common transport and
energy system; and trade, customs, and tariff policies with regard to
third countries and international organizations. The countries would
have to unify foreign investment and other laws. The union parliament
would be bicameral, comprising the Union Chamber (upper house) and the
House of Representatives. JM

Foreign Ministry spokesman Markiyan Lubkivskyy on 1 April denied that
Ukraine has supplied antitank Kornet missiles to Iraq, UNIAN reported.
"Newsweek" reported on 31 March that Iraq has purchased 1,000
laser-guided Kornet missiles. The magazine cited unidentified Pentagon
generals as saying that Ukrainian dealers sold about 500 Kornets to
Iraq in January. According to Lubkivskyy, the report is "yet another
attempt" to undermine Ukraine's international standing. JM

[37] ...AND ALLOWING WASHINGTON TO MENTION UKRAINE AMONG 'COALITION OF
THE WILLING'

Lubkivskyy also told journalists that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry
has never asked the United States to consider Ukraine a member of the
"anti-Iraqi coalition," according to UNIAN. He was apparently referring
to a statement made on 29 March by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos
Pascual, who said Kyiv consented to the U.S. request that Ukraine be
mentioned during a speech U.S. President George W. Bush gave last week
in Tampa, Florida, as a supporter of the U.S.-led military action
against Iraq. JM

The first session of the newly elected parliament elected Estonian
Academy of Sciences Vice President Ene Ergma as its speaker on 31
March, BNS reported. Ergma was chosen by a vote of 66 to three, with 30
invalid ballots. The 58-year-old Res Publica member is an
astrophysicist who worked at the Astronomy Council in Moscow in 1972-88
and from 1988 at Tartu University. The parliament also elected Toomas
Savi of the Reform Party (57 votes) and Peeter Kreitzberg of the Center
Party (27 votes) as parliament deputy chairmen. Peeter Tulviste of the
Pro Patria Union received 11 votes and was not elected. President
Arnold Ruutel urged the parliament to pass laws that will help end
inequalities in regional development, strengthen the vocational
education system, increase funding for cultural programs, and increase
the availability of social assistance and medical aid. SG

Leni Bjorklund began a two-day visit to Latvia on 31 March with talks
with her Latvian counterpart Girts Valdis Kristovskis, LETA reported.
She said Latvia's expected membership of NATO will promote security in
the Baltic Sea region and that Sweden will continue its active
cooperation with Latvia in military operations and security matters
even though it does not intend to join NATO soon. Bjorklund and
President Vaira Vike-Freiberga discussed bilateral relations, regional
cooperation, Europe's collective security, NATO enlargement, and the
war in Iraq, BNS reported. They expressed support for the involvement
of the United Nations in the reconstruction of Iraq following the
current military operation as well as the establishment of a democratic
Iraq. Bjorklund also met with Foreign Minister Sandra Kalniete. SG

A consortium comprising Russia's gas giant Gazprom, the U.S.-based
Clement Power Venture, and the local company Dujotekana signed an
agreement on 31 March to purchase the Kaunas thermal-power plant from
the utility Kauno Energija (Kaunas Energy), ELTA reported. The
consortium agreed to pay 116.5 million litas ($36.4 million) for the
plant, of which 90 million litas must be paid within five days, and to
invest a minimum of 400 million litas in the future. Gazprom purchased
99 percent of the plant's shares, and the other two partners 0.5
percent each. However, by December the shares will be redistributed so
that Gazprom will own 51 percent; Clement Power Venture, 25 percent;
and Dujotekana, 24 percent. Gazprom will be responsible for supplying
natural gas to the plant, Clement Power Venture will deal with the
plant's expansion and upgrading, and Dujotekana will oversee
operations. The purchase agreement stipulates that rates for Kaunas
residents, who receive heating supplies from the plant, will not be
increased for five years. SG

[41] POLISH MILITARY LEADERS ARE CRITICAL OF U.S.-LED OPERATION IN IRAQ

Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski on 31 March said the way the
operation in Iraq is progressing has been influenced by its timing,
which, he said, was poorly chosen, Polish Radio reported. "The way this
operation is progressing is not a surprise because in our opinion, of
the General Staff and mine as well, the operation started very late or
almost too late as far as climatic conditions are concerned,"
Szmajdzinski said. According to the deputy chief of the General Staff,
General Lech Konopka, air raids by the coalition forces in Iraq have
not brought expected results. The general emphasized that the
coalition's actions were slowed by poor reconnaissance. Szmajdzinski
said that 186 Polish troops are currently taking part in Operation
Iraqi Freedom. JM

President Aleksander Kwasniewski has signed a law on national
referendums under which Poles will take part in a referendum on
Poland's EU accession, PAP reported on 31 March. The referendum will
most likely be held on 8 June and will last one or two days. The final
decision on whether to hold such a referendum will be made by the Sejm.
The length of the referendum will be decided by the Sejm or the
president with the approval of the Senate. The result of the referendum
will be binding if voter turnout exceeds 50 percent. If the majority of
voters favor Poland's EU membership, then the president will be able to
ratify the EU Accession Treaty. If turnout is lower than 50 percent,
the Sejm may pass another resolution on choosing a way to express
consent for the ratification of the treaty, the agency added. JM

Ryszard Chwastek, a retired army colonel, was sentenced by the Poznan
District Military Court on 31 March to one year in prison suspended for
two years, PAP reported. The court also ruled that he be demoted to a
lower military rank. Chwastek was charged with organizing an
unauthorized news conference on 6 August 2002, during which he accused
the defense minister and high-ranking army officials of breaking the
law and mismanaging reforms in the Polish armed forces (see "RFE/RL
Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report," 13 August 2002). JM

The U.S. State Department offered a generally positive assessment of
human rights practices in the Czech Republic in its annual report
issued on 31 March, but it noted lingering weaknesses in law
enforcement and the courts, in addition to persistent problems in
combating violence against women, children, and the Romany minority,
according to the State Department website (http://www.state.gov).
"Occasional police violence and use of excessive force remained a
problem," according to the assessment, which alleges that Czech police
are slow to act in cases of threats against Roma. "Long delays in
trials were a problem, due to structural and procedural deficiencies as
well as a lack of resources for the judicial system," it adds. The
report also cites violence against women and children -- including
domestic violence, rape, and human trafficking -- as continuing
problems. "Discrimination and occasional skinhead violence against Roma
remained problems," the report adds. The annual review concedes growing
access for the handicapped in the Czech Republic, but says that "many
buildings and means of public transportation remained inaccessible to
those in wheelchairs." AH

Cabinet ministers on 31 March backed out of a multibillion-dollar
contract with an Israeli company to build an 81-kilometer stretch of
highway in the eastern part of the country, the daily "Hospodarske
noviny" reported the next day. The paper cited the Transportation
Ministry as saying the move is likely to lower the price tag on the
project from more than $4 billion to about $2.6 billion. The D47
highway will also be ready one year earlier, in 2008 rather than 2009,
ministry sources said. The contract with builder Housing &
Construction, which reportedly contains penalties for withdrawal, was
signed in the absence of a tender by the former government of Milos
Zeman in its last hours in power and has been held up by critics as
evidence of continued corruption in government. A "Hospodarske noviny"
commentary on 1 April pointed out that the cabinet move came just one
day after Premier Vladimir Spidla defeated the "Zeman wing" at a Social
Democratic Party conference (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2003). AH

The Czech Parliament on 31 March voted to approve the country's
accession treaty, paving the way for the prime minister to sign the
document at the upcoming EU summit in mid-April, CTK reported. All of
the candidate states' leaders are expected to sign their countries onto
the roughly 5,000-page treaty, which is identical for all 10 invitees.
Czechs are expected to vote in a referendum on EU membership in June,
with growing support despite a low level of enthusiasm for the EU in
comparison with other postcommunist countries in the region. AH

The U.S. State Department's annual human-rights-practices report of 31
March highlights "corruption and inefficiency within the judiciary" in
Slovakia in 2002, along with police abuses and "considerable societal
discrimination" aimed at Roma, according to the text of the report on
the State Department website. "The Government generally respected the
human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some
areas," the report says. It points to beatings and abuse by police,
"particularly [of] Roma," and notes that security forces continued to
commit rights abuses despite some improvement in their performance. The
State Department cites as "problems" domestic violence against women
and children, and trafficking in women, especially Roma. AH

Slovakia will receive 48 million euros ($52 million) from the EU to
monitor its border with Ukraine and combat illegal immigration, CTK
reported on 31 March, citing Interior Minister Vladimir Palko. Slovakia
must build a new border-control system equipped with radios and
infrared sensors as a condition for accession to the EU, he said.
Slovak President Rudolf Schuster visited the border crossing at Vysne
Nemecke on 31 March and said he is happy the new controls will be
enacted so Slovakia "does not bring shame on ourselves after accession
to the European Union." Tibor Mako, head of Slovakia's border police,
said some 2,399 illegal immigrants, mostly from Bangladesh and China,
were caught trying to cross the Slovak-Ukrainian border in 2002, 450
more than in 2001. In 2000, police caught 6,000 people trying to cross
the border illegally. BW

Imrich Bugar, deputy chairman of the Slovak parliament, was re-elected
on 29 March to lead the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), CTK reported
the same day. Bugar ran unopposed for the leadership of the SMK, which
is a member of Slovakia's four-party ruling coalition. Other parties in
the government praised Bugar's election. Lubomir Lintner, leader of the
Alliance for a New Citizen (ANO) party's parliamentary caucus, called
it "a good step" and described Bugar as "one of the most stabilizing
figures in post-1993 Slovak politics," TASR reported. Milan Hort,
leader of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) caucus,
praised Bugar as being "one of the guarantees of the ongoing reform
process." The SMK's power base lies in the more than 500,000 ethnic
Hungarians in Slovakia, about 11 percent of the country's population.
BW

The United States will soon discontinue its training of Iraqi
oppositionists at Hungary's Taszar military air base, the MTI news
agency reported on 31 March. The first group of roughly 50 Iraqi
volunteers trained at the base is already in Iraq, reportedly helping
with the distribution of food-aid shipments. The second group, of 26
people, has now left Hungary; its primary task will be to assist the
work of aid organizations. Authorization provided by the Hungarian
government allowed for as many as 3,000 Iraqis to be trained at the air
base. In the end, only about 100 volunteers were trained in two stages,
MTI reported. MSZ

Unions representing 80,000 soldiers, police, and firefighters on 31
March launched 10 days of demonstrations outside parliament to protest
government-imposed wage freezes for the remainder of 2003,
"Nepszabadsag" reported on 1 April. The Interest Protection Federation
of Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Workers (ERDESZ), which comprises
seven separate unions, appealed to Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy and
Prime Minister's Office head Peter Kiss, seeking guarantees that
members will not face a decline in real wages this year. ERDESZ has set
up a transparent mailbox outside the parliament building, where it will
collect protest letters from its members. MSZ

Unidentified Serbian police told AP in Belgrade on 1 April that they
are "closing in" on Milorad Lukovic "Legija," the former leader of the
elite Red Berets unit and the prime suspect in organizing the recent
murder of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
31 March 2003 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 28 March 2003). The police
added that their recent discovery of a Yugoslav diplomatic passport
issued to Lukovic as well as a forged Croatian passport in his name
will "speed up" the hunt considerably. The police noted that the
assassination "clearly points to a conspiracy led by war criminals and
war profiteers,... all from the ranks of [former President Slobodan]
Milosevic's regime." Elsewhere, the government pledged to investigate
charges that some of the media might have had links to police,
security, or criminal elements involved in the killing, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. PM

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac said in Belgrade on 31 March
that the authorities are seeking an international arrest warrant for
Mirjana Markovic, the wife of Milosevic, in connection with the murder
in 2000 of former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
31 March 2003). He noted that she might have left the country
immediately after losing her parliamentary immunity following the
dissolution of the former Yugoslav legislature in February. Korac added
that Stambolic will soon be reburied with full state honors. PM

Veton Surroi, who is Kosova's best-known journalist and a political
figure in his own right, has called for Serbian Deputy Prime Minister
Nebojsa Covic to resign his position as Belgrade's point man for
Kosova, Deutsche Welle's "Monitor" reported on 31 March. Surroi said a
recent statement by Covic against Kosovar independence -- in which the
Serbian leader used phrases such as "unavoidable conflict" and "set the
Balkans in flames again" -- recalled the language often used by
Milosevic, which is anathema to Kosovars. Elsewhere, Kosovar Prime
Minister Bajram Rexhepi told RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service that Covic's statement was aimed at mobilizing
Kosova's Serbian minority to prevent any transfer of functions from the
UN civilian administration (UNMIK) to elected Kosovar institutions.
Rexhepi stressed that "the time of the Serbian threat" to Kosova is now
past, and that the province's final status will be clear by 2005 at the
latest. PM

An unspecified number of Macedonian and Albanian troops held a daylong
joint exercise near Skopje on 31 March aimed at bringing their forces
up to NATO standards, dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 March
2003 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 22 November 2002). Macedonian Defense
Minister Vlado Buckovski said that "this was the first bilateral
exercise of Albanian and Macedonian soldiers." Albania recently took a
step toward improving relations by denying entry to a man whom
Macedonia claims is a leader of an underground insurgent group. PM

Republika Srpska President Dragan Cavic and Dusan Stojicic, who heads
the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), told RFE/RL's South Slavic and
Albanian Languages Service on 31 March that High Representative Paddy
Ashdown has no authority to sack Mirko Sarovic as the Serbian member of
the joint Bosnian Presidency (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2003).
Cavic added that a sacking would "complicate the political situation,
not only in the Republika Srpska but in Bosnia" as a whole. Ashdown has
not said whether he will fire Sarovic in connection with the latter's
alleged role in illegal arms sales to Iraq, but regional media have
speculated for several days that Ashdown will indeed sack Sarovic. PM

The war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia sentenced prominent
paramilitaries Mladen Naletilic "Tuta" and Vinko Martinovic "Stela" to
20 and 18 years' imprisonment, respectively, for their roles in the
persecution, expulsion, and torture of Muslims from Herzegovina in
1993, Reuters reported from The Hague on 31 March. Naletilic was also
found guilty of using Muslim prisoners as decoys to draw fire from
their own forces away from Bosnian Croat troops. The tribunal found him
guilty of a total of eight and Martinovic of nine counts of crimes
against humanity, war crimes, and breaches of the Geneva Convention on
the conduct and customs of war. PM

NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson said in Zagreb on 31 March
that "a lot of progress has been made by Croatia in satisfying the
standards laid down for membership of NATO, and the armed forces of
Croatia are making determined efforts to reach the standards that would
allow them to integrate within the NATO armed forces," dpa reported
(see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 22 November 2002). He and Croatian
President Stipe Mesic discussed the war in Iraq -- which Mesic opposes
-- and the security situation in the Balkans following Djindjic's
assassination. Robertson noted that "Djindjic's murder will affect the
entire region" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 and 25 March 2003). Robertson
added that "although it is not involved in the conflict in Iraq, NATO
is searching for ways how to help its member, Turkey. There are
divisions in the UN, EU, and NATO about how [Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein] should be disarmed. NATO's priority at the moment is to
provide defense for Turkey, one of the NATO countries that is next door
to Iraq." PM

A parliamentary vote of no confidence in the government failed on 31
March by a vote of 281 to 163, Romanian media reported. The Greater
Romania Party, the National Liberal Party, and the Democratic Party
initiated the motion in the wake of the Social Democratic
Party-dominated cabinet's "assumption of responsibility" for a package
of 17 bills to fight corruption (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19, 20, and 21
March 2003). Extremist Greater Romania Party Chairman Corneliu Vadim
Tudor said the mafia has "paralyzed" the entire state structure and
that "the only law that truly functions" is the "law of the jungle."
National Liberal Party Deputy Crin Antonescu said the package
represents only an image-saving "operation," and that the "first and
most important measure for combating corruption is the dismissal of the
government." Premier Adrian Nastase replied that opposition parties
oppose the measures because they affect some of their members. ZsM

[60] ...AS BRITISH AMBASSADOR SAYS CORRUPTION IS A 'MAJOR PROBLEM IN
ROMANIA'

British Ambassador to Romania Quinton Quayle said in a press release on
31 March that "corruption is a major problem in Romania that affects
negatively the business environment and the public administration's
efficiency," Mediafax reported. Quayle added the British government
"firmly supports" measures against corruption, which he said
discourages foreign investment. He further added that considering
Romania's NATO and EU accession prospects, it is essential that Romania
not only adopts, but also correctly implements European legislation.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Romania Michael Guest said in an
interview with Romanian Radio that he hopes the anticorruption measures
will be adopted by parliament and implemented quickly. He added that
the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest is ready to support the law's immediate
implementation. ZsM

Tiraspol authorities have denied making any preparations for declaring
a state of war in the Transdniester region, Flux reported, citing a
report by the Transdniester's official Olvia press agency. Tiraspol
dismissed these accusations as "propagandistic hysteria," arguing the
region's Defense Council on 27 March merely discussed regional issues
relating to the Iraq crisis. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin on 27
March claimed that Tiraspol authorities intend to announce a general
mobilization of military forces and to declare a state of war (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March 2003). Meanwhile, Voronin said in a meeting
with U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Pamela Hyde Smith on 31 March that he
sees a real opportunity to continue talks on resolving the
Transdniester conflict, Infotag reported. ZsM

At a joint session on 31 March, the governing coalition of National
Movement Simeon II (NDSV) and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights
and Freedoms (DPS) decided to cancel the privatization of the
Bulgartabac tobacco monopoly, mediapool.bg reported. The privatization
deal was called off because the potential buyer, Tobacco Capital
Partners, which is backed by the Deutsche Bank, failed to meet some of
the key demands made by the government. No agreement could be reached
over the demand that Deutsche Bank should remain the sole owner of
Bulgartabac for at least five years. According to Economy Minister
Nikolay Vasilev, Tobacco Capital Partners is owned by an offshore
company. The prospective buyer also failed to present a $32.6 million
bank guarantee. "In the negotiations about Bulgartabac we defended the
national interests," bnn quoted Finance Minister Milen Velchev as
saying. "It would be good if they had finished successfully; however,
it is better to have no agreement rather than an agreement that does
not guarantee the national interests." UB

European Affairs Minister Meglena Kuneva said on 31 March that she does
not expect the country's negotiations with the EU to be affected by the
Supreme Administrative Court's 28 March ruling that an agreement
between the EU and Bulgaria regarding the closure of two blocks of the
Kozloduy nuclear-power plant is invalid, "Standard" reported. Kuneva
and Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi have asked legal experts of their
ministries to analyze the court ruling. On the basis of this analysis,
the cabinet will decide on further action. According to Kuneva, the
court ruling is legally binding only in Bulgaria, but does not affect
the country's international agreements. The court ruled that the
agreement between the EU and Bulgaria under which Bulgaria was to close
down blocks No. 3 and No. 4 of the plant prior to the country's EU
accession, which is expected for 2007, is invalid (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 31 March 2003). UB

Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski announced on 31 March that the
government will dismiss Redzhep Molla Ahmed, the deputy administrator
of Pazardzhik Oblast who in a 29 March speech demanded that Turkish be
introduced as the official language in the Rhodope Mountains and that
Christians be expelled from the region, "Sega" reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 31 March 2003). Saxecoburggotski said such statements are
deplorable in a society that is an example of tolerance. Ethnic Turkish
Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) Chairman Ahmed Dogan indicated
that his party will consider expelling Molla Ahmed. UB

Iraq Television broadcast a 31 March press conference in which Iraqi
Foreign Minister Naji Sabri announced that coalition forces "have no
choice but to surrender" to Iraqi forces "if they want to save their
lives." Calling on coalition troops to withdraw "today," Sabri said
those who choose to continue fighting the Iraqi regime have "no hope
for escaping the inferno that [Iraq is] preparing." He added that a
continuation of the current military conflict "will flare up feelings
of hatred from Arabs, Muslims, and all world nations," presumably
toward the United States and its allies in the conflict. Sabri
continued to promulgate the regime's propaganda, telling reporters that
Iraqi forces have dealt "destructive blows" to coalition forces,
spreading "fear and panic" among them. KR

Sabri said on 31 March with respect to the Arab League that some member
states are working to "stab Iraq in the back," adding that those states
"will be penalized harshly by their own people." The foreign minister
contended that the Arab "masses and people" expect their governments to
support Iraq. Nonetheless, he insisted, the Arab League is calling for
an emergency session of the UN General Assembly and continues to seek a
new UN Security Council resolution calling on coalition forces to
withdraw from Iraq. Sabri once again criticized the UN Security Council
for taking up the matter of the oil-for-food program in lieu of what he
viewed as more pressing matters. "We hope that the United Nations will
exercise its powers and avoid being a rubber stamp for the United
States," he said. Iraq is seeking diplomatic support through the
Nonaligned Movement and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, in
addition to the Arab League and United Nations channels. KR

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) issued a statement on 30 March
in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1472, which resumes the
oil-for-food program, according to the regional government's website
(http://www.krg.org/). The resolution also handed UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan responsibility for overseeing the program. The KRG stated
that previous attempts to implement oil-for-food faced obstruction by
the Iraqi regime and inefficiency on the part of the UN, adding, "It is
important that these primary deficiencies be deliberately addressed."
The statement also called on the UN to deposit all funds due to the "13
percent account" that was established to meet the humanitarian needs of
the three northern Iraqi governorates through the legal export of oil.
The KRG had announced on 29 March that the Irbil and Dahuk governorates
face a short supply of wheat flour, with less than 17 percent of the
rations for the month of March distributed. According to the KRG
announcement, the World Food Program (WFP), which administers the UN
food-distribution program, informed the KRG that it will not be able to
supply the northern governorates with wheat until the situation
normalizes and international staff return. KR

Iraq Television announced on 31 March that President Saddam Hussein has
issued medals and badges of honor to "valiant fighters" in several
divisions -- including the 45th Brigade, the Umm Qasr Force, the 11th
Division (Al-Nasiriyah Force), and the Al-Faw Force -- for their
service in what the regime is calling the "decisive battle" against
U.S.-led forces. The announcement also stated that the families of
fighters in the 45th Brigade and the 11th Division "shall be informed
that we [the regime] will take care of them, and that each family shall
immediately receive a sum of 2 million dinars," or about $1,000. KR

Iraq Radio read a statement on 1 April from the "Presidency" to the
people of Iraq denying that the family of President Hussein has fled
Iraq. The president's family is part of the larger family of Iraq, the
statement read. "Just as Saddam Hussein has linked his fate to his
people,... the fate of the family of Saddam is not separate from the
fate of the larger family." KR

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Deputy Director of Operations Brigadier
General Vincent Brooks told reporters during a daily briefing on 31
March that coalition forces continue to receive assistance from a
variety of Iraqi sources helping to facilitate coalition attacks on
Iraqi military targets, according to the military-command website
(http://www.centcom.mil). Brooks said local populations, prisoners of
war, and existing contacts with Iraqi civilian and military leaders are
contributing to coalition activities, adding, "When we go in to do
something against a Ba'ath [Party] headquarters, for example, it's
based on intelligence and other information that's been provided that
can be turned into action." He said information coming out of the city
of Al-Basrah has enabled coalition forces to localize their attacks in
an effective manner. "A number of military leaders that have been taken
under [coalition] control as a result of combat actions or by raids
[are] providing useful information in a number of cases that we are
then...taking action on," he said. Brooks said the coalition has
increased its ability to communicate with the Iraqi population on the
ground in Iraq, adding, "We think that the domestic population is not
seeing very much of the Iraqi regime at this point in time, and we'll
continue our efforts to make sure that's the case." KR

A 15-member team from the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) visited a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in southern Iraq on 31
March that houses some 3,000 Iraqi POWs, Kuwait News Agency reported
the same day. Balthasar Staehelin, a representative for the ICRC, told
a press conference that the team, which included a doctor and six
interpreters, registered approximately 100 POWs, Reuters reported on 31
March. Staehelin said the ICRC is still awaiting Iraqi approval to
visit coalition POWs being held by the Iraqi regime. "Two ministers of
the Iraqi government have publicly stated they will respect the Geneva
Conventions. We hope these visits can take place as rapidly as possible
but for the time being, no date has been set," he said. KR

Colonel Munir Maqdah, a Fatah commander in the Ayn al-Hilweh refugee
camp in Lebanon, was cited in the "The Jerusalem Post" on 30 March as
saying that hundreds of Palestinians living in Lebanon have been sent
to Iraq to conduct suicide attacks against coalition forces. In an
interview that appeared in Beirut's "The Daily Star" on 31 March,
Maqdah denied that he sent suicide bombers to Iraq, although he
acknowledged that "hundreds" of volunteers went there from Palestinian
camps in Lebanon and other Arab countries before Operation Iraqi
Freedom began. Maqdah said there was a notice in the camp calling for
volunteers before the war began, and he admitted encouraging the Arabs
to go to Iraq. "We wish we were all in Iraq fighting the Americans," he
said. Some 250 Lebanese volunteers from Baalbek have headed for Iraq to
fight U.S. and U.K. forces, Baalbek parliamentary representative Asim
Qansu said on 30 March, according to "The Daily Star" the next day. He
did not say whether they would fight conventionally or through suicide
attacks. BS

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters in a 31
March daily briefing that Secretary of State Colin Powell will head to
Ankara for talks with Turkish officials sometime during 1-3 April, a
period that will also include a visit to Belgium, according to the
State Department's website (http://www.state.gov). Boucher said the
Turkish talks will focus on the current crisis as well as on
postconflict issues in Iraq, and he noted that U.S. envoy to the Iraqi
opposition Zalmay Khalilzad is meeting with Turkish officials on Iraq.
Boucher referred to the continuation of talks as "a chance at a
critical moment" for the two nations to "talk about what is going on in
Iraq, talk about the affect on Turkey, [and] talk about many of the
things we are doing together with Turkey on the war on terrorism...but
also to talk to Turkey as we want to talk to others about the postwar
scenarios, about how to reestablish an Iraq that has a representative
government whose territorial integrity is maintained and how we can
work together to do that." KR

Turkish officials have stepped up efforts to highlight Turkey's
longstanding friendship with the United States in light of the National
Assembly's decision in early March not to allow U.S. troops to launch
activities against the Iraqi regime from Turkish soil. In light of
public opinion at home, where polls indicate a majority of Turks oppose
war in Iraq, the Turkish government appears to be walking an economic
and political tightrope. Still, Turks pelted a U.S. military convoy
outside Sanliurfa on 30 March, Reuters reported the same day. It was
the second such attack in as many days: U.S. soldiers were attacked
with eggs and stones in the same area on 29 March while attempting to
recover pieces of a Tomahawk cruise missile. KR

Mohammad el-Baradei, director-general of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement quoted by Reuters on 31 March
that the IAEA's mandate remains valid and he expects UN weapons
inspectors to return to Iraq, the news agency reported the same day.
"The IAEA mandate in Iraq is still valid and has not changed, and the
IAEA is the sole body with legal authority to verify Iraq's nuclear
disarmament," el-Baradei stated. He added that inspections were
interrupted only as a result of the military conflict, and said, "We
expect to go back with full authority after the cessation of
hostilities." KR

"Al-Arab al-Yawm" on 31 March published a letter by 99 Jordanian
intellectuals and politicians appealing to King Abdallah II to "promote
and support the increasing international efforts by condemning"
U.S.-led Operation Iraqi Freedom. The signatories expressed "shock" at
the "absence of an effective official Arab position" and stated, "It is
the national, ethical, and legal duty of all Arab governments without
exception, including the Jordanian government, to clearly announce that
the aggression against Iraq is illegitimate." The letter added that
such a stance would be in line with the one taken by France, Russia,
China, and Germany, among others. KR

Seyyed Anwar al-Hakim, an associate of the Supreme Council for the
Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), charged in a 31 March interview
with ISNA that the United States does not want to give the Iraqi people
a role in overthrowing the country's regime or in shaping any possible
post-Saddam government. Al-Hakim said that trying to do so without the
involvement of the SCIRI militia, known as the Badr (Brigade) Corps,
would be very difficult. Presumably referring to U.S. Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld's characterization of the Badr Corps as an extension of
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 31
March 2003), al-Hakim said: "The Iraqi opposition forces are a symbol
of the Iraqi nation and represent the silenced voice of the people.
Forces of the Badr are all Iraqis and have always stood with the Iraqi
people. We regret to hear of the allegations made against Iran on the
composition of the Badr Corps." BS

Haj Mahmud Qamati, deputy chairman of Lebanese Hizballah's Political
Council, said in the 30 March issue of Beirut's "Al-Mustaqbal" daily
newspaper that his organization only has offered "political and media"
support to the "Iraqi resistance" so far, but he added, "We have a
relationship with some factions with which we hope to develop a working
plan in the future to confront the American plan, now that Iraq has
become the staging point for the American plan to dominate the region."
Qamati emphasized that his organization is against aggression and is
not in favor of the Iraqi regime. He added that Hizballah warned that
if the United States were not confronted in Afghanistan, the entire
region would have to deal with it later. Qamati praised the religious
leaders in the Iraqi city of Najaf who have called for resistance. BS

An anonymous source in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said in
the 31 March "Al-Sharq al-Awsat" that Iranian authorities have arrested
some 40 Ansar al-Islam members in the previous two days as they fled
from battles in the area, and it has offered to turn them over to the
PUK. The anonymous source also told the Saudi-owned London daily that
members of the Kurdish Islamic Group led by Ali Bapir have escaped into
Iran. A U.S. and Kurdish assault on 28 March drove Ansar al-Islam
elements from their positions in northeastern Iraq toward Iran. Tehran
declared previously that it closed its border to Ansar al-Islam
elements (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2003). BS

Lebanese Shia spiritual leader Shaykh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah said
in a 28 March sermon at the Imam Hassan Mosque in southern Beirut that
the Iraqi people's resistance against U.S. and U.K. forces does not
indicate their support for the regime, Hizballah's Al-Manar television
reported. Rather, he said, it indicates their defense of the nation.
Fadlallah inaccurately accused the United States of carrying out
massacres in several Iraqi cities. He also accused the United States of
promoting sectarian strife. "In their political rhetoric, the Americans
want to incite strife among the Muslims in Iraq by insinuating that the
Shia stand behind the occupation and that the Sunnis are those who are
mounting resistance," he said. Fadlallah said the Shia always have
opposed occupation and will never be at peace with the occupier. He
called for Muslim unity, and said, "Let us have one voice and one
position against the occupation." BS

A member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad injured 30 Israelis in a 30
March suicide bombing meant as "a present" to the Iraqi people, as well
as an anti-Israel act, according to a pamphlet carried by the bomber,
dpa reported. The pamphlet identified a new suicide-bomber unit named
after Ali al-Nu'mani, an Iraqi national who killed four U.S. soldiers
in a 29 March suicide bombing (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 31 March
2003). PIJ's Al-Qods Brigade took credit for the 29 March shooting of
an Israeli soldier and the firing of four rockets west of Khan Yunis in
the Gaza Strip, and it said the operation took place in the context of
a general mobilization in solidarity with the Iraqi people, according
to the PIJ website (http://www.qudsway.com). "Iraq is not the only
target of this crusade.... The target is the entire nation." BS

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said on 1 April that Israel regards Syrian
President Bashar Assad's apparent decision to grant "physical aid to
the Iraqis" and his remarks that "no peace agreement can be reached
with Israel" as "very grave," the Israeli daily "Ha'aretz" reported,
citing a Lebanese newspaper report. According to the report, when asked
recently whether he views Syria as the next possible target for the
United States to attack, Assad replied, "As long as Israel exists, the
threat is there. As long as there is an aggression on an Arab country
[Iraq] and a war on our borders, the danger is there." "Ha'aretz"
asserted that Damascus continues to allow volunteers, many of them
Syrians, to enter Iraq from Syria despite U.S. warnings. U.S. Secretary
of State Powell said on 30 March that Syria must make a critical
choice: Either continue to directly "support...terrorist groups and the
dying regime of Saddam Hussein or...embark on a different and more
hopeful course. Either way, Syria bears the responsibility for its
choices, and for the consequences," "Ha'aretz" reported. AT

[83] SCORES OF TALIBAN, INCLUDING HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS, ARRESTED IN
AFGHANISTAN...

Ghazni Province Governor Assadullah Khaled claimed on 31 March that 80
members of the Taliban -- including Sayyed Shahidkhayl Akhond, who
served as deputy minister of education under the Taliban regime, and
Asadullah Sadozai, former commander of security zone No. 6 -- have been
arrested in ongoing sweep operations in Ghazni, Radio Afghanistan
reported. Khaled added that the Taliban's and Al-Qaeda's bases in
Ghazni have been destroyed, but that elements loyal to the two
organizations enter Afghan territory from Waziristan in Pakistan's
North-West Frontier Province. Furthermore, he said those elements are
financially supported by sympathizers in the Pakistani cities of
Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar. Khaled said the arrests were made by
Afghan military forces without any involvement by U.S.-led
antiterrorism coalition forces. Khaled said the prisoners are in
custody in Ghazni and will not be "handed over to any foreign country,"
Radio Afghanistan reported. AT

Kandahar Province Governor Gol Agha Sherzai said on 31 March that eight
members of the Taliban have been killed and 13 were arrested in
military operations in Oruzgan Province in the past week, Radio
Afghanistan reported. Sherzai rejected a claim made by senior Taliban
commander Mulla Dadullah to the BBC on 28 March in which he said the
Taliban captured 60 Afghan and two U.S. soldiers in the operation.
Governor Sherzai said Mulla Mohammad Zaher and Mulla Mohammad Gol were
among the dead and that Mulla Abdul Razaq, the former minister of
commerce in the Taliban regime, was among those arrested. Sherzai did
not elaborate on the significance of the two dead persons he named,
presumably because they were well-known figures in Kandahar. According
to Radio Afghanistan, Sherzai personally commanded the military
operations in Oruzgan, and only eight U.S. soldiers participated,
performing "the duties of communications and wireless operations." AT

Shoukat Aziz, the finance adviser to Pakistan's prime minister, told
Afghan officials on 30 March that Islamabad has refused a request by
Afghanistan to allow Indian goods to pass through the Wagah border
crossing in Pakistan's Punjab Province, the Indian daily "The Hindu"
reported on 1 April. Pakistan has agreed to allow Afghan exports to
pass through the same border crossing to India, according to the
report. The daily reported that Pakistani officials have indicated that
Islamabad might consider allowing Indian-made cookies to be exported to
Afghanistan, but not Indian wheat. Pakistan's the "Daily Times"
reported on 31 March that Islamabad regretfully accepted Afghanistan's
request to send goods to India via Pakistan, but the newspaper did not
provide any explanations. Afghanistan's landlocked status makes the
country dependent on Pakistan for exports to India as well as for sea
shipments, and this dependency was used by Pakistan for political
leverage during tensions between Kabul and Islamabad in the 1950s
through the 1970s. AT

The Peshawar-based Nawa-e Dost (Melody of the Friend) radio station
said in a commentary on 30 March that historically "friendly relations"
between Afghanistan and Pakistan "are getting better day by day." As an
example, the commentary cited Islamabad's offer to allow Afghanistan to
export its goods via Pakistan, which it said "can play a big role in
the economic stability and life of the people of Afghanistan." While
Pakistan is trying to help Afghanistan, there seems to be apprehension
in Islamabad over the strengthening of traditional ties between Kabul
and New Delhi. AT

In order to save Afghanistan's historic literature, New York University
has began a program to digitize all books and pamphlets printed in that
country from 1871 to 1930 in what is called the Afghanistan Digital
Library project, "The New York Times" reported on 29 March. An Afghan
anthropologist and former professor at Northern Illinois University, M.
Jamil Hanafi, said that "symbolically," the digital library is the best
thing that can be offered to "Afghanistan at this stage of
reconstruction." The project's temporary editor, Robert McChesney made
an analogy to the United States, saying the situation in Afghanistan is
similar to Americans not knowing that "there was a Constitution," the
New York daily reported. Most of Afghanistan's surviving historic
documents are scattered in private hands or in various libraries around
the globe; thus, most Afghans have no access to their own country's
history. The project should allow Afghans access to their past and help
them plan their future with due respect to their achievements and
failures as an emerging nation state. AT

END NOTE

[88] IRAQ WAR PRESENTS SOUTH CAUCASUS STATES WITH NEW CONCERNS, ROLES,
OPPORTUNITIES

By Liz Fuller

The leaderships of the three South Caucasus states have adopted widely
varying positions with regard to the war in Iraq, and those positions
have been articulated on different levels. Whereas in Armenia and
Azerbaijan, the Foreign Ministry has been the primary source of
official statements, in Georgia President Eduard Shevardnadze has set
the agenda by affirming unconditional support for the United States.

Of the three states, only Armenia does not figure in U.S. President
George W. Bush's 49-member "coalition of the willing." The Armenian
Foreign Ministry has consistently opposed any military action against
Iraq without the endorsement of the UN Security Council, calling
instead for Iraq to disarm peacefully and voluntarily in compliance
with UN Security Council resolutions. As for the possible impact on
Armenia of the Iraq war, President Robert Kocharian, in one of his very
few public comments on the issue, predicted that the economic impact
for Armenia would be negligible.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has identified two interrelated concerns.
The first is the Armenian minority in Iraq, which is estimated to
number between 15,000-20,000 people. The Foreign Ministry has been
preparing to grant visas to those Armenians to travel to Armenia. The
second is the possibility of a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
which, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said on Armenian
Public Television on 24 March, could endanger an Armenian-populated
village in the region. Any Armenian casualties at the hands of the
Turkish military would inevitably revive memories of the 1915 genocide
and thus constitute a major obstacle to the normalization of relations
to which both countries aspire.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan have both
formally denied media reports that the United States has requested the
use of one or more military airfields in Armenia for the duration of
the war in Iraq.

Azerbaijan figures among the coalition of the willing, even though, as
Iraq's ambassador to Baku recently noted, no member of the Azerbaijani
leadership has expressed unequivocal support for U.S. military action
against Iraq. Asked in late February on the eve of his departure for
the United States to outline Baku's position, President Heidar Aliev
said it had already been formulated in a Foreign Ministry statement.
That statement called on Iraq to disarm voluntarily in compliance with
UN resolutions and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's 5 February
report to the UN Security Council. Aliev also said on 25 February that
the United States had not invited Azerbaijan to join the coalition
against Iraq, according to Interfax.

In a second statement on 21 March, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
expressed its "deep concern" over developments in Iraq and called on
Baghdad "to meet fully the requirements" of UN Security Council
resolutions 678, 687, and 1441, Interfax and ITAR-TASS reported. The
statement further expressed support for international efforts to
resolve the crisis and urged "strict observance of international law"
during military operations. Interfax on 21 March also quoted
Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Colonel General Safar Abiev as saying on
21 March that the United States has asked Azerbaijan for unspecified
assistance in connection with the war in Iraq. Abiev said Azerbaijan
might make its airspace available, but will not send troops. He said it
is too early to say whether Azerbaijani forces might participate in
peacekeeping operations in Iraq.

"Turan" on 25 March quoted Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliev
as saying that Baku is still considering how to respond to the U.S.
request to all countries in which Iraq has diplomatic representations
to ask its diplomats to leave. In what might be a bid to win the
respect of Iran and of moderate Arab states, Guliev highlighted
Azerbaijan's concern at the possibility that Muslim shrines in Iraq
could be damaged during the hostilities. He suggested that Azerbaijan
could send "representatives" to Iraq to protect such holy sites and
that oil-industry, medical, and other specialists could participate in
postwar reconstruction.

The Azerbaijani leadership's failure to affirm its unconditional
support for the U.S.-led military action against Iraq might stem partly
from a fear of alienating opposition formations, including the Union of
Azerbaijani Forces, that have adopted a clearly pro-Iraqi position and
even offered to send volunteers to fight against the U.S.-led coalition
in Iraq. The Iraqi ambassador in Baku has politely declined that
offer.

Another contributing factor might be a reluctance to risk alienating
Arab states and Islamic financial organizations that are considering,
but have not yet made a firm commitment to, providing some funding for
oil-sector projects, according to "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 24 March.
The United States, for its part, might be turning a blind eye to
Azerbaijan's equivocation because of the U.S. commitment to the
construction of the planned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil export pipeline for
Caspian oil.

Georgia, in contrast to Armenia and Azerbaijan, has expressed
wholehearted support for the U.S. military action against Iraq, and has
offered to place its military airfields at the disposal of the United
States. U.S. specialists have reportedly inspected at least one
airfield, and talks were said to be under way late last week at U.S.
Joint Command Headquarters in Florida on the technical and logistical
issues involved.

But there are indications that Tbilisi's willingness to provide
whatever help it can to the United States is not entirely altruistic:
Shevardnadze has said that he anticipates that the United States will
take on a more prominent role in resolving the Abkhaz conflict once the
Iraq war is over. And Georgia would presumably be in a position to
claim financial compensation on the lines of that Washington offered
Ankara for the use of its territory to launch military operations
against Iraq. The Georgian leadership might also be hoping that
demonstrating the country's crucial geostrategic position might
expedite its bid for NATO membership, which might otherwise be held
delayed for years by the inherent weakness of Georgia's chronically
underfunded armed forces.